Luke 23:44-46

Luke 23:44-46 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Hebrews 10:19-22 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Acts 2:24-28 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

The curtain in the temple that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross ensured that all who place their trust in him may enter into the Holy of Holies. In the Old Testament, before entering the Most Holy Place, the priest had to sacrifice a bull in atonement for his own sin, and then sacrifice a goat for the sins of the Israelites. He sprinkled the blood of these animals on the atonement cover in the Most Holy of Holies. Then he could stand before the Lord with petitions on behalf of himself and the people. The blood of bulls and goats was necessary for him to stand in God's presence. Without the blood covering for his sins, he surely would die. Jesus paid the price for us to enter into God's presence by the shedding of his blood on the cross. His blood was sprinkled before the Father God evermore so we who believe in Jesus' works might stand boldly before God and call the Almighty, Abba Father. Jesus paid the price for our position with the Father as children of the Most High. He tore down the curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, making it possible for sinful man to inter the inner sanctum where God's presence dwells.

Jesus paid the absolute price of our redemption. He gave up his power to raise himself: into your hands I commit my spirit. He placed his spirit, his existence, his position, in God's hands. But in Acts 2 we see that God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death. Jesus understood the love of God; by faith, He knew, you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. God also will not abandon to the grave those who are holy in Christ Jesus, nor will we see decay, for we live IN HIM forevermore. This is our great hope, the hope of ALL WHO PLACE THEIR FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. Christ's love at the cross reveals God's love towards us. He will not abandon us because He loves our very essence and paid a tremendous price for our eternal salvation. He loves us not for who we are or for what we have done; He loves us because we are bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. From the beginning, He breathed his life into us, made us a new creation in his image. He loves us JUST BECAUSE WE ARE.

Consequently, God asks us to love our brothers. Who are our brothers? Who do we love and not hate? Who do we forgive, serve, and not kill? When the disciples asked Jesus who they should love as themselves, fulfilling the second great commandment, Jesus responds with the story of the good Samaritan, a person despised by the Jews. He tells how a hated Samaritan loves a Jewish man lying injured on the side of the road. He says to them, love as this good Samaritan loved; otherwise, love your enemies as yourselves. If we do, we love as God loves. He sends the rain on the just and the unjust; He loves both. We do likewise. At the cross, Jesus gave himself not only for the "good," but also for the "bad." Through his sacrifice, He brought all of us into the most holy place, the inner sanctum. This divine love constrains our flesh and motivates our spirits. We no longer look at the speck in our brother's eye; we love him and look to our own faults. Because of God's great love for us, He will not abandon us to the grave, but He will raise us to everlasting life. As we wait for that glorious day, we have confidence that if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) We do not abandon our wives, our children, our neighbors, or our enemies. We love them, THE ESSENCE OF THEM. We love them just because they ARE and because God first loved us.